The Day W&m Stunned The Heels

25 Years Ago Tonight, W&m Rocked No. 2 North Carolina

December 07, 2002|By DAVE JOHNSON Daily Press

A quarter of a century later, Jack Arbogast remembers just about every detail. How nobody, absolutely nobody, gave them a chance of keeping it close. How his jump shot was AWOL in the first half. How they partied nonstop until catching the next morning's flight to Utah. And how a dying teammate provided strength.

Anyone in William and Mary Hall on Dec. 7, 1977, a chilly Wednesday night, will never forget. The Indians, as they were then called, stunned the college basketball world by defeating second-ranked North Carolina, and its usual cast of All-Americans, 78-75. It wasn't some fluke play at the end: W&M led for 34 of the game's 40 minutes.

"Realistically speaking," said Lowenhaupt, who had 21 points that night, "we didn't expect to win."

William and Mary came in 4-1, having lost only to St. Joseph's two weeks earlier. The Tar Heels, seven months removed from losing the NCAA championship game, were 4-0. But the Indians had been playing the big boys close lately. The year before, they lost to No. 11 Wake Forest and No. 8 UCLA, both on the road, by a total of 10 points.

Tip-off came at 8 o'clock, and the start wasn't promising. Dudley Bradley, UNC's high-flying forward, threw down a thunderous dunk off the opening tip.

"We all looked at each other and said, (bleep)," said Billy Harrington, a junior guard. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"

Pretty soon, the Tar Heels were wondering the same thing. The Indians not only hung around, they led 32-31 at the break. No thanks to Arbogast, who had only one basket in the first 20 minutes.

"I remember the first thing Bruce said at halftime," Arbogast said. "We came in the locker room and obviously we were juiced because we were up one. And Bruce said, 'Well, we're up one, but if Arbogast could hit a jumper, we'd be up 10.'"

Arbogast hit some in the second half and W&M led 62-47 lead with 8:04 remaining. But Ford, who had only two points at halftime, scored 20 in the final 13 minutes.

The Indians nearly gave it away by missing the front end of three consecutive one-and-ones, but Harrington went 2-for-2 to seal it. W&M shot 77 percent from the field in the second half.

"They didn't catch us on a terrible night," Smith told reporters. "They just played very well."

They also played inspired. Team captain John Kratzer, who had been battling cancer for two years, had just returned to campus after another round of chemotherapy. Before the game, he told his teammates they'd win because he was going to beat cancer. Unfortunately, he was only half right. Kratzer died the following year.

"My most vivid memory from that night was coming downstairs to the locker room and seeing the players all huddled around John, jumping up and down," Parkhill said. "It was very special to have him there."

That night, the players -- along with their friends, parents, and half the world, it seemed -- gathered at the Lodges, a group of houses on campus. The next day, the team boarded a flight for Provo where it played in the Cougar Classic.

"I remember when we got there, we found a newspaper that came out the day we played North Carolina," Arbogast said.

"They talked about the tournament and they had literally one paragraph on us. 'William and Mary, a team from Williamsburg, was the last team to fill the tournament.' The headline the next day was, 'William and Mary Beats UNC; Favored to Win Tournament.' "

Which the Indians did. But after beating Rollins on Dec. 29 to go 9-1, W&M ended up losing nine of its last 16 games. Carolina won the ACC championship but lost its NCAA Tournament opener.

Those involved that night have moved on. Parkhill has retired from coaching and Harrington is a New York attorney. Arbogast is a financial consultant and Lowenhaupt a CPA, both living Williamsburg.

Tonight, the team will be honored at halftime of W&M's game against Virginia Tech in the Hall. And the memories will flow.

"It was incredible," Lowenhaupt said. "The thing I'll always remember is the end of the game when I realized we were actually going to win. And how surprised I was that we pulled it off."

TONIGHT'S GAME

* WHO: Virignia Tech vs. William and Mary.

* WHERE: William and Mary Hall.

* WHEN: 7 p.m. The 1977-78 team will be honored at halftime.

Dave Johnson can be reached at 247-4649 or by e-mail at djohnson@dailypress.com